KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A 24-1 run midway through the second half allowed the Truman Women's basketball team to pull away and pick up their first win over a ranked opponent since 2008. The Bulldogs dominated the 24th-ranked Quincy Hawks for a 79-69 victory to move to 4-0 on the young season.
The Hawks led 6-3 early before the Bulldogs went on a 14-2 run to grab a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs led by seven at the break only to see the Hawks claw their way to within two at 49-47 with 12:32 left to play. Jennifer Conway (Waterloo, Ill., Waterloo), who finished with her second double-double in four games, started the run off an assist by Nicole Gloor (Overland Park, Kan., Blue Valley). Allie Norton (Bloomington, Ill., Central Catholic) would knock down the triple to extend the lead back out to seven as she and Gloor would score eight points each during the run.
Truman would lead by as many as 26 points as late as 3:21 left to play.
Five players would finish in double figures behind Becka McHenry's 19. McHenry (Fraser, Mich., Fraser) jumpstarted the 'Dogs in the first half with 11 points early and finished with a team high five assists. Norton added 16 on four made three-pointers while Conway finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while working against 6-4 Quincy center Linsay Henke. Breanna Daniels (Ridgedale, Mo., Hollister) scored eight of her 12 points in the second half and Gloor finished with 11, also with eight in the second 20 minutes.
The Bulldog defense kept the Hawks off balanced. Quincy came into the game averaging 13 made three-pointers per game but had just five in the first 37 minutes of action. The Bulldogs kept the Hawks to 24 points below their season scoring average and held Quincy to without a field goal for eight plus minutes during the run to put the game out of reach.
Ali Schwagmeyer led all scorers with 21 points while grabbing a career high 18 rebounds. Schwagmeyer was flustered though as she was just 8-of-24 from the field and 1-of-4 from long range. Henke had 12 at the break but finished with just 13 points.
The last win by a Truman squad over a ranked opponent was in March 2008 as the Bulldogs defeated #22-ranked Emporia State in the first round of the MIAA tournament.
The Bulldogs will look to remain perfect as they head to Kansas City on Saturday evening to face the Rockhurst Hawks at 6:00 p.m.
